The Evening Talk
by SYuuri
Summary: ‘Hey, this is Sam. If you’re hearing this it means I’m not home. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.’ Beep! -- Sam/Jules. Kind of. xxONESHOTxx


**The Evening Talk**

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**Disclaimer:**** If I was paid for everytime I did the 'not mine' speech, I would have already been a very rich girl.  
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**:: My take on what happens after the last episode. This takes place several days after BtBL. Spoilers for the episode finale S3x09 – Behind the Blue Line. A Samtastic episode! Super angsty and heartbreaking, but what a way to close an amazing season. **

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'_Hey, this is Sam. If you're hearing this it means I'm not home. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.'_ **Beep!**

A slender finger pushed the off button. The silence greeted her a second later was deafening.

On the nightstand, the digital clock flashed 11.54 pm. It was almost midnight and all she could think about was how the quiet was slowly getting into her nerves. Still, she didn't make any moves to change that. Unlike most nights, her 21 inch television was on, currently tuning to some random TV show she didn't really care for. The volume was put on mute but the weak light from the TV was somehow soothing.

These past few days had been pretty good days. One false alarm, three warrants and two hot calls. Noone had to Scorpio anybody and as far as she was concerned, everybody got to go home just like the bad guys got to go to jail to spend their nights pondering why they had done anything they had done. Well, at least she heard they're installing a new television set in the state prison recreation room. Smart move, she'd say. It worked wonder in ensuring the prisoners would never sleep or try to cook an escape plan. Plus, they all got to watch Ghost Whisperer in HDTV. Awesome.

'_Hey, this is Sam. If you're hearing this it means I'm not home. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.'_ **Beep!**

It was _kind of_ pathetic, but she _kind of_ missed hearing his voice. They hadn't been partnered for a while now and with everything that had been happening lately-- started with the break up, Lew's passing and then the latest being the mission in the historic arena--, they hadn't really had any discussions that didn't include the words gun, mission, and shoot in the same sentence.

Her body shivered involuntarily and her hand instinctively pulled the blanket tighter around her. Sam had been –so- close to leaving the team. It probably only occurred as a result of the heat of the moment, but he had been so determined and resolute about it that it scared her. She was –not- going to lose another teammate; landmine or otherwise.

She kept all the team members in her speed dials, yet somehow the rookie had managed to climb his way up and kick Ed from number one to eight; definitely something to join the pile of Jules Secrets Which Will Never Be Shared moments. She didn't think her team leader would appreciate that very much anyway. As Jules jabbed his speed dial button for what was probably the sixth time that night, she almost laughed. It _was_ pathetic.

'_Hey, this is Sam. If you're hearing this it means I'm not home. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.'_

She killed the phone before the beep this time, feeling the sound would drive her crazy if she had to hear it once more.

To say that she didn't have any feelings towards Sam would be a lie and no, it didn't necessarily mean it had to be romantic feelings. They had been friends first before they began to date and Julianna Callaghan always cherished every friendship she'd made, this one no exception. Unfortunately, to say that things had been pretty dry for both of them lately would be the understatement of the century.

And she _kind of_ missed him.

And worried.

Kind of.

She knew for sure that Sam had been staying with his sister since yesterday to celebrate the birth of his first niece, or else she wouldn't even have _thought_ about doing what she had been doing. Something so cowardly and childish and so unlike her it would make her father weep.

'_Hey, this is Sam. If you're hearing this it means I'm not home. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I-'_

The message was cut off short, followed with a loud thud as if something heavy had fallen on the floor and a train of painful curse. When Sam Braddock spoke, it came out more like a hiss and he was breathing hard. _"Hello?"_

Jules almost choked on her warm lemonade. To her credit, her voice was calm and composed when she answered, even though she could feel a flush of embarrassment on her cheeks as it dawned on. Busted. "Hey you,"

"_Jules?" _Sam sounded stunned. Not that she blamed him.

"You okay?" She sat a bit straighter, deft fingers twirling her brown strands around. A moment later she realized what she was doing and stopped instantly.

Sam grunted. _"Yeah, hit that stupid coffee table my mom gave me for Christmas, you know?" _

Jules had spent enough nights in his place to know which table he meant. "I guess so,"

"_What's wrong Jules? Is there something happened?" _

"Nah…," She wasn't going to tell him that she had been 'stalking' him for the last couple of days. Not even with a gun pointed to her head. "Just couldn't sleep,"

"_Are you okay?" _

"I'm fine," She chewed her lips and it was a half a second decision when she threw the question back at him, fully aware he wasn't going to like it. "Are _you_?"

"_Jules…,"_ Sam warned.

"It's a polite question, Sam. Never assume,"

"_I'm alright, okay? I won't do anything stupid and I sure as hell won't pick up my gun and shoot myself,"_ Sam snapped, his voice raising an octave higher and trembling slightly from the repressed anger.

Jules sighed and run her hand through her hair. Not a minute had passed since they finally talked like normal people after so long and they were already on the brink of biting each other's heads off. "I'm not going to force you to talk to me or something like that, Sam. You're a big guy and I know you know how to take care of yourself,"

"_Good," _He answered shortly and she knew had they stood face to face, he would have fixed her that infamous glare of his.

"Just like I know you know that you can always come to me or anybody else if you feel you need someone with a penis to understand what you're going through," Jules continued just as curtly. She had slept with him, condoned his snoring on her ears and even his terrible cooking skill. She had the rights to say that.

"_Jules…," _

"I thought you're spending the night in your sister's?" Jules changed the subject. If Sam wanted to talk, he would. He was sitting inside his cave now and she's simply going to sit outside, waiting. However, if he so stubbornly decided to stay inside for another night or so, she might have to burst in, grab his hair cavelady-like and drag him out. "Congratulations, by the way,"

"_Thanks,"_ Sam replied, sounding a bit less tense now. _"The in-laws are coming and they're one room short," _

"Poor Sammy," She grinned. "Got kicked out by your own people,"

"_I offered to leave, mind you. Then again, if I weren't home you wouldn't have caught me," _

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Jules apologized although his voice was suspiciously clear for someone who just roused from his sleep. "I didn't realize that you're home,"

Instead of bombarding her with the 'then why were you calling' question, he simply said, "_I'm glad you called," _A pause_. "I could use the distraction,"_

Ah, today is yet another restless night, isn't it, Sam? "You haven't changed your voice mail," Jules noted. "It's kinda ordinary for your standard, isn't it?"

Sam laughed; the first real laugh she heard coming from him and it was as good as it was unexpected. Her ex boyfriend and teammate had a tendency to change his voice mail every day or so. His latest inspiration was something along the line of _'Hey this is Sam. If you're hearing this it means I'm out there saving the world or perhaps I just want to ignore you for disturbing my nap. After this you'll hear a beep and you're free to either hang up or leave me your message so I know who I'm ignoring.'_

"I have to say my favorite was that _'Sam isn't home. If you want to buy him dinner, leave your number but if you want to sell rugs or bathtub or exotic lamps, my dad owns the ACE hardware' _crap," Jules commented, still laughing. "You're just impossible sometimes,"

"_That's called being creative. Hadn't had the slightest idea that you're a fan of my Voicemail of the Day. Is that why you called?_"

"You wish," He was only bluffing. Everything's under control. Breathe, Jules. "I just wanted to make sure you're still alive instead of dangling from the ceiling of your room, eyes glaring down like a spooky scene in your favorite horror movies. Or, if you'd rather go with guns, at least stay away from the study room; you just changed the wallpaper,"

Sam chuckled, not really saying anything else. It's good enough. A faint smile played in the corner of her lips. She could feel the cracks on their friendship start to mend themselves.

"_I hate it, Jules," _

Her mouth clamped shut. She didn't expect he would walk out of the cave this soon.

"_I should've been able to save that guy. He shouldn't have to die. He wasn't gonna shoot," _His voice turned to an exasperated whisper as he got to the end.

"Sarge said it and I'm going to say this again, we didn't doubt you had a connection with Darren. But things were so fast getting worse and we couldn't risk your life or Spike's. Sometimes things don't go the way we want it to be," Jules said softly, her heart constricting painfully inside her chest when the memory of Lew's being taken away so savagely from them floated back up. "We don't get to win everytime and it's not fair, but you have to be at peace with who you are,"

"_Did you overhear Ed talking to me the other day?"_ Sam asked suddenly. When he laughed it was a tired one, but it's still counted nonetheless.

"Yes, I was hiding in Wordy's locker. How could you miss that?" Jules played along, her fingers making invisible patterns on the bedspread. "You know, before Leah came I was the only girl in the team. Had been that way for five years. I guess I was cocky enough to say that I was better than all the male applicants to wear the cool pants. My first day, it was so darn hard. Ed was a good person, but you know how he could be to a newbie,"

"_Tell me about it,"_ Sam muttered.

"Yes, you of all people should know that," Jules smiled and leaned over to take her lemonade. All this talk had made her thirsty. "It wasn't hard to fit in since everyone was so nice and welcomed me with open arms, but all my life I have always been compared to guys. My brothers, for example, and now these gentlemen. Being the only girl in a guys team, there were times I was so afraid I would let my team down. I'm not saying that the feeling's gone entirely now, but it gets better. You and I have different reasons, but I know how it's like to feel like you don't belong in a team,"

"_You're a great team member, Jules"_ Sam responded, his voice thick with emotion. She'd hoped she could make him see the whole ordeal in a new perspective, and by the sound of it, she had done pretty well.

"You're one of the good guys, Sam. Good guys always win. It will get better in no time. You might not realize this, but you –do- save people. Just let us save you this time, okay?"

"_Ed said something about a meeting on Friday night. I'll probably take up his offer," _

Jules smiled, relieved. "Ed's going to like that," Then, without so much of a thought, she added, "Then again, what would you do if you did leave?"

"_The Bahamas sounds really tempting right now,"_

"Don't forget to pack your sun block," She advised playfully and they shared a good laugh.

"_Did you call last night, Jules? Because like tonight, there's someone so persistently tried to reach me yesterday," _Sam asked as the melancholy atmosphere began to evaporate and a much light-hearted topic took over.

She couldn't tell whether he was being serious or just pulling her legs. Either way, she wasn't going to plead guilty. "I'm flattered that I was the first person you had in mind, but sorry to disappoint you, that's not me,"

"_You sure? Because I have my reasons and I know for sure it can't be the team. When you eliminate the impossible, the answer, no matter how improbable, is what remains," _

Jules rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me, another Sam-logic?"

"_Actually, Sherlock Holmes said that_," Sam sounded amused.

Shaking her head, she had to remind herself that Sam was one fat bookworm with a riffle on his back. Now that the World War III had been averted, she realized just how tired she was. Stifling a yawn, she moved to her feet. "I'm going to bed now; early shift tomorrow. Good night, Sam,"

"_You're dodging the question, Jules,"_

"_Good night, Sam_," Jules emphasized each word, one hand putting her glass back on the nightstand and the other turning off the television.

"_Thanks for calling, Jules,"_ Sam said, his voice had taken the serious tone once again. Unlike before, Jules knew he at least would be able to sleep tonight. _"I appreciate it,"_

"See you tomorrow,"

"_Night," _

**Click. **

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**:: Thanks for reading. There's another inside joke; I just couldn't help it :D It's really vague but if you do catch it, another Samtastic hug for you! Reviews are loved :)**


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